Npower: FG Yet to Engage Exited Npower Beneficiaries

Exited batches A and B beneficiaries of the N-Power scheme are yet to be formally enrolled into the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the federal government.

This is contrary to the promise made by the scheme before it exited the beneficiaries.

Investors King recalls that the beneficiaries who were engaged in 2016 and 2017 respectively, were successfully exited from the scheme in May 2020.

The Federal government had, through its Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development which is handling the scheme, launched a portal for the 500,000 exited beneficiaries to apply for their exit packages.

Also, plans were made for the transition of the N-power batch A and B through the creation of the NEXIT portal, which would allow those who choose to sign up to access other government empowerment opportunities.

Despite these promises, the exited beneficiaries are yet to access these promised opportunities.

Investors King also recalls that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq had encouraged the beneficiaries to exercise more patience and await the result of her efforts.

She had disclosed that the ministry directed Focal Persons of National Social Investment Programmes in the states to submit an updated list of the exited N-Power beneficiaries that are interested in participating in the transition plans of the ministry.

She had further stressed that N-Power beneficiaries who have concluded the 2-year job programme will now be able to access permanent job opportunities or business prospects in line with the N-power exit strategy now activated by the Buhari administration.

“Under the plan, 200,000 beneficiaries will be engaged as financial services operators under a Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility (SANEF) scheme operated by the Central Bank of Nigeria; over 30,000 have already been engaged as geospatial experts and enumerators in the Economic Sustainability Plan’s Mass Agric programme, while several others will have the option of benefiting from the GEEP micro-enterprise loans,”the minister had said.

Meanwhile, at least 200,000 former N-Power beneficiaries will be onboarded on a scheme known as the Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility (SANEF) while at least 30, 000 others would be deployed for the Mass Agric programme, a component of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP).

SANEF scheme is a project powered by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Deposit Money Banks, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems, Chattered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Licensed Mobile Money Operators, and Shared Agents with the primary objective of accelerating financial inclusion in Nigeria.